U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Earlier today, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced the imminent launch of a new electronic system for NFA transfers. Known as the eForms system, this overdue modernization will allow consumers to submit both ATF Forms 1 and 4 electronically, hopefully resulting in a significant decrease in transfer times when compared to traditional paper Forms.
According to ATF, the transition to the new system will occur sometime after December 15th, but before Christmas. The new eForms system will handle all existing NFA transfer forms, including the ATF Form 4.
If you recently submitted an NFA application, keep it in the queue. We cannot stress this enough. Withdrawing your Form 4 and re-submitting electronically will take longer than allowing your Form 4 to make its way through the approval process.
That’s because ATF isn’t going to dig through the tens of thousands of forms being processed to find your application. They’re going to wait until your Form 4 reaches an NFA examiner’s desk – the exact point at which it would normally be approved – to process your withdrawal. Instead of approving it though, they will acknowledge your withdrawal and release your serial number. You will not be able to re-submit an eForm 4 with the same serial number until ATF acknowledges your withdrawal and puts it back into your dealers’ inventory.
Thus, withdrawing and re-submitting electronically will add months to your overall application process.
Once the transition to the new eForms system begins, ATF estimates that the transition will take between two to four days to complete, at which point the new eForms system will go live. ATF has indicated that they will notify the industry 24 to 48 hours prior to the transition, and we will let you know as soon as we receive this notification.
While traditional paper-based applications will remain a viable option, ASA’s recommendation to consumers is that they submit new NFA applications electronically. That’s because, if the new eForms system works as promised, it will increase efficiencies by reducing form submission and payment processing times, eliminating weeks of delays in data processing, and all but eradicating data entry errors.
As we gather more information, we will keep you posted. In the meantime, stay tuned by following the American Suppressor Association on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletter.
About the American Suppressor Association
The American Suppressor Association (ASA) is the unified voice of the suppressor community. We exist for one reason and one reason only: to fight for pro-suppressor reform nationwide.
The ability of the American Suppressor Association to fight for pro-suppressor reform is tied directly to our ability to fundraise. Since the ASA’s formation in 2011, 3 states have legalized suppressor ownership and 18 states have legalized suppressor hunting. Much of this would not have happened without your support. For more information on how you can join us in the fight to help protect and expand your right to own and use suppressors, visit www.AmericanSuppressorAssociation.com.
Why will it be any shorter just because you submit it electronically? They still haven’t hired any new examiners. Now instead of coming into the office and picking up a pile of papers, the examiners will open the computer and see the application. So it does skip the step of the examiner entering the data into a computer. Otherwise they are still inundated with hundreds of thousands of form 1 sbr and home build silencer applications, tens of thousands of form 4 manufactured silencer applications, And thousands of form 4 transfer machine gun applications. The form one transfers do go… Read more »
wow! so out of character for the bureau. probably because it is easier to scan the information into a database than by hand, with less errors also. kind of like the 4473’s.
The “new” electronic form 4? “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. The 2A. According to the constitution the government has zero, nun, nada, no right to anything related to militia or firearms, nun. Neither does it have the right to tax RIGHTS. Then again, the batfe is famous for killing innocent men, women, children and babies over their illegal, unconstitutional, $200.00 tax stamps. With the corruption, treason and tyranny we see in government, local and federal, the true freedoms and rights the American citizen has my actually equal citizens of russia, china… Read more »
TEX (“Will”) – 12/3/21:
“Texas Gov Greg Abbott took care of this NFA BS for silencers in the Lone Star State.Made in TEXAS,stays in TEXAS. No federal nonsense involved!”
Repley to TEX (“Will”):
You have child-like ability to completely ignore reality.
Could you please list the retailers who are selling made-in-Texas suppressors to people who have not gone through the federal process?
TEX (“Will”)
“Founding era? Just another made up term. There’s no record of any forms,fees,or permission from that era.”
Reply to TEX (“Wll”):
I believe that was his point.
Definetly below 95 and I believe another estimator may well have been correct that it’s under 90 (he was certainly correct on a number of other things).
I wonder how many enforcers cringe when you post.
Furthermore, you recently expressed how you want gun control laws enforced and violators kept in jail. Good grief.
In the founding era (after our country was formed), we didn’t have hundreds of government agencies with armed government employees strutting around ordering people around while they patted themselves on the back and expecting other people to pat them on the back.
People didn’t complain that armed government employees were not enforcing gun control laws.
The entire experiment of self-governing was founded on the idea of people producing goods/services and trading with one another and people of other countries. Government (and government employees) were supposed to be in the background. The concept of armed government employees was repulsive.